Daniel Cormier Reveals When He Could Retire From MMA

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has his next big challenge in front of him and it won’t be easy.

“DC” started his pro-MMA career in 2009 and had since achieved great success. Before he decided to become an MMA fighter, he was a decorated wrestler who has won multiple tournaments going back as far as his high school years.

Now that he turns 39 years of age in 2018, Cormier is looking towards to exit door on his competitor days after competing at a top-level for two decades.

“I’ve been pretty vocal about it, that you’ll never see me at 40,” Cormier told ESPN.com. “We may be going into my last year in 2018. And I’m completely at peace with that.”

“It’s time for this dude [nods at his son, Daniel Jr.] to take precedent in terms of sports. I’ve been doing high-level sports since I was 15. I can’t do it forever. I’m ready to give the commitment and focus to my boy, after a few fights. I’ve got a couple [fights] left in me.”

The only two losses on Cormier’s record is due to former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Cormier went on record by stating that these two fights have been defining moments of his career.

“I think one of my biggest mistakes has been hinging so much on one person,” Cormier said of Jones. “It’s unfair to my career to base it all on him, but yes, I do still feel he’s the icing on the cake.”

“There’s nothing like a loss. Some people take time and move past it. I never do. All those losses in the big spots — NCAA finals, Olympic semifinals, Olympic bronze-medal match, the fights with Jones — they all stay with me. I think that’s what makes me, me.”

Cormier is slated to defend his light heavyweight title against Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event of UFC 220, which is set to take place on Saturday, January 20, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.